Soooooo Annoyed!!!

the end.

Me + Baby Gap = Total Love Affair

I love, love, love Baby Gap! Shoot I love Gap, Gap Body, Gap kids....basically everything Gap. Its a nice mommy-friendly place to shop as I feel like Express is more "bar-hopping clothes". And lets be honest, hopping bars is not quite my thing anymore. Gap is a great excuse to make the trip over to North Park (which is another one of my loves) instead of going to rinky dink Firewheel.

I got some super cute stuff there recently.
Here are a few of my favs:

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Just to remind you....

Here is the 2008 Cousins X-mas picture:

Last year's picture is what I like to call "Controlled Chaos".
This year.... not so much!

Cousins X-mas Photo Shoot- 2009

We have made it a tradition of getting a Christmas picture of all of the kids on my side of the family. In 2007, there was just Luke, Cameron and Kailey. In 2008, Olivia and Avery were added to the group. And this year we added Nathan. Thats 6 kids! I am convinced that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get 6 kids (5yrs old and younger) to sit still for a picture all at once. My sisters and I were BEAT! We had 6 kiddos going 6 different directions. Totally out numbered!

Hope you are happy mom!!

Here is a sneak peek of the chaos:

I think Avery's theme song of the day was Puff Daddy's- Cant Nobody hold me Down.

"Can't nobody hold me down..
Oh no, I got to keep on movin"

My lil jumper was all jumped out!

Every morning when I go in to get Avery up he is jumping in his crib like a mad man. Today when I walked in with the camera it freaked him out a little and he just sat down...haha.

Here is the video:

Diddy is 'bout to run this city!!

*Don't hold it against her that she is a Bengals fan.*

My cousin Leigh Ann (aka Diddy) and her husband Derek are coming to stay with us as well as my cousin Sonia (Diddy's sister). I love these girls! They are such a blast to hang out with and we always have an awesome time together. I am definitely getting super excited but I have so much to do before they come.

-Get stank ass Sophie groomed.
-Organize the guest room.
-Buy air mattress.
-Clean the house.
-Decide if Bama will stay here or go to the in-laws.

Other things that need to be done this week:
-Get Alysha's payment info and close out her party order
-Clean my parents house
-Grocery shop
-Exchange Avery's Gap sweater for a different size
-Find something to wear to Justin's 30th bday this weekend
-Workout
-List table on Craigslist

Thanksgiving Recipes

I'll be making Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Fluff and Macaroni & Cheese along with a pie (I'm still deciding which one). I just recently realized that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the fact that its all about being grateful for the people in your life. My family does it up big and this year our family from Ohio are coming in to town. I love that there is no present madness involved. Its just about getting together and having a great meal with your loved ones.

While strolling around Target tonight I came across these awesome frozen sweet potatoes which I will use to make the sweet potato recipe.


Also, my mom bought my sister's and I each a really cool pie dish and pie crust cutters from William Sonoma. Can't wait to use them!

Update on my Lil' Stinker

As you can see, Avery is into EVERYTHING!


-Loves getting into the refrigerator!


-First thing in the morning when I am making his breakfast he starts emptying the tupperware cabinet.


-He plays independently pretty well. He travels from his room to the playroom to the living room to get a certain toy.


-He knows where all of his toys are kept.


-Loves bath time! While I run his bath water, he plays naked in the bathroom. Hehe! He goes over to his bucket with all of his shampoos and stuff and he gets out his toothbrush and toothpaste. He acts like he is putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush.


-Loves brushing his teeth by himself. He gets very upset if I try to do it for him.


-He says: "Mama", "Dada", "Dog Dog", "Ba-Bye", says "Yea!" while clapping.


-Still working on baby signs. He will randomly do the sign for "milk".


-He is obsessed with his bottle. He carries it around in his teeth while he crawls around.


-He claps ALL the time.


-He fake laughs all day long to get your attention.


-He also fake coughs when he is eating because he loves to see me jump up and dart over to him. He's a stinker I tell ya!


-He is definitely aware when someone he doesnt know is around.

-He sleeps from 7pm-8am most nights


-Still takes 2 naps a day. One about 1.5 hours after he wakes up in the morning and one in the early afternoon.


-LOVES grapes, bananas, ravioli, cheese, crackers, oranges


-He improves his walking all day everyday. He walks about 6 steps and then plops down and crawls over to where he is going.


-He is super tough and hardly ever cries when he gets hurt.

Just a picture for motivation....

I've fallen off of the dieting wagon once again. It is just so hard lately. Maybe if my husband didn't already love all this curviness that I'm working with then it would be a little easier to lose weight. I gained 40 lbs during my pregnancy. I lost 40 lbs by my 6 week postpartum check-up. Now, I've gained 10 back. =( I have not gotten back into a steady workout routine since I had Avery and he is almost a year old! I've got to get it together. I hate that I dont take many pics of myself anymore because I honestly dont like what I see. Will my body ever be the same as it was pre-Avery? Probably not, but I need to suck it up and work with what I've got.

My short-term weightloss goal:
I would like to lose 10 pounds by New Years.

-No more fast food!!
-Go to 24 Hour 3 days a week
-Walk/jog at home with Avery on the days that Michael isnt here to watch him while I go to 24.
-No snacking after 7pm.
-Water only!!
-Spend less time on the computer

Wish me LUCK!!

Avery's Christmas List

Avery's 1st Santa Pic

Last year Avery was only a couple of weeks old on Christmas and the thought of taking my sweet little germ-free baby up to the mall and sit him on the lap of some germie stranger terrfied me. So we skipped the whole Santa thing last year.

Today I took Avery out to Stonebriar to meet Santa (while beating the germie rush of people next week and probably all of December) and get his picture taken with him. He was all about Santa until I handed him over. I have NEVER seen such a scared expression on Avery's face. I couldnt help but laugh the entire time but he was sooo sad. Here is a picture of the picture since I didnt buy the digital copy.

Avery's Birthday Invitation

Confused...

Why am I such a blog-retard?? I can't figure out with all my info is at the bottom of my page. =(

Avery is officially WALKING!!

I can't believe it. Avery started taking steps a little over a month ago but today he just got up and went. He walked all the way down the hallway into his room and then shut the door. Haha! So proud of my little man!

Yesterday I bought him a new pair of the coolest shoes. They are called Skidders. They are like socks but with a rubber sole. They look so comfy and Avery seems to like them. =)

Cute huh? I will write a full update on what Avery is up to these days soon....promise!

Cleanse

I've decided to kick-start my diet with a good ole' cleanse. I'll let you know how it goes. ;)

My First Scentsy Party

My sister, Juli, hosted my first Scentsy home party. She had a nice turn out with a sales total of about $760! She got $114 dollars worth of FREE Scentsy product and 4 half-priced items. I am so jealous of all the free stuff she was able to get. Here are pics of the party set-up. =)